Hand brake



O- J- FlLLlp Dec. 26, 1967 4 Sheetsnshee,L l

Filed Aug. 26, 1965 @flml s n//lw/ Dec. 26, 1967 O. J. FILLIP HAND BRAKE Filed Aug. 26, 1965 I 4 Sheecs--Sheevl 2 l v. w Z9 mi W p 720e A @fg/QJ ma, j @VMM O. J. FILLIP HAND BRAKE Dec. 26, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed `Aug; 26, 1965 Dec. 26, 1967 Filed Aug. 26, 1965 O. J. FILLIF HAND BRAKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O 3,359,772 HAND BRAKE Orville J. Fillip, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Dreis & Krump Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 482,817 1 Claim. (Cl. 72-319) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hand brake having a top leaf supported on the bottom leaf by a hinge arrangement which is adjustable without the aid of tools, and is self-locking. The hinge arrangement consists of an upper saddle mounted on the top leaf and lower saddle on the bottom leaf. A cylindrical nut is adjustably carried by the lower saddle and receives U-shaped slots in the upper saddle. A finger mounting arrangement which permits fingers to be installed and removed without the aid of tools is also shown.

This invention relates to improvements in floor mounted, standard and box and panel type brakes and more particularly is directed to new and improved brakes of uncomplicated construction having a novel means for permitting expedient adjustment of the top leaf assembly to compensate for changes in thickness of the metal stock to be bent. In addition, suitable means is provided permitting adjustment of the clamping pressure to accommodate changes in thicknesses of metal stock. A novel mounting arrangement of fingers is also provided in the box and pan design which facilitates easy and expedient changing of the nose bars.

Bending brakes or metal brakes as they are sometimes called, find wide use in the heating, Ventilating, automobile repair and like fields. In the smaller sheet metal job shops, a floor mounted hand brake is an extremely important piece of equipment since it is used to make various bends in daytoday operations. Thus, it is important that the brake be versatile for optimum use with different thicknesses of sheet stock.

Generally speaking, brakes are characterized by cooperating elements including a bottom support member which is sometimes referred to as an anvil assembly or clamping bed. A top leaf is disposed above the anvil assembly and is provided with means to draw the same into clamping engagement with the anvil assembly. In the box and pan type as contrasted with the standard type, the clamping fingers may be removably mounted and in the present design, are mounted in a novel manner for ease of interchangeability. A bending leaf is hingedly mounted for swingable movement about a horizontal axis on the forward portion or front of the anvil assembly to bend the material clamped.

As the sheet metal emerges from the anvil assembly where it is clamped between a nose portion of the top leaf and the anvil, it intersects the plane of the bending leaf so that movement of the latter causes the emerging portion to be bent. Suitable means is oftentimes provided to permit the clamping pressure to be adjusted and also in the past means has been provided to permit forward and rearward adjustment of the top leaf both of which function to accommodate varying thicknesses in sheet metal. In prior art designs, if forward and rearward adjustment was provided at all, it usually consisted of an adjustable nut and co-operating lock nut arrangement ice requiring the operator at the brake to have wrenches continuously available. Needless to say, to effect an adjustment of this type was very cumbersome, time consuming, and as a consequence, costly.

The new and improved hand brake of the present invention contemplates the provision of a unique manner of mounting the top leaf portion on the anvil assembly. The mounting arrangement permits expedient forward and rearward adjustment of the nose portion of the top leaf with unequalled ease. No lock nut arrangement is required as in former designs. A unique clamping pressure adjustment also is provided, however, it requires adjustment much less frequently than the forward and rearward adjustments of the top leaf assembly.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an extremely simple and economical hand brake which is easily operated including a unique means to permit rapid adjustment of the top leaf relative to the anvil assembly to compensate for varying thicknesses in metal.

It is a further object of this invention to -provide a new and improved hand brake assembly of uncomplicated design which permits bending of sheet metal to be accomplished with greater rapidity than heretofore experienced.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved hand brake having a novel adjustment for forward and rearward movement of the top leaf assern bly and a novel means to adjust the clamping pressure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved hand brake assembly having the anvil assembly, top leaf assembly, and bending leaf assembly so disposed and mounted relative to one another to permit accurate bending to be performed with a minimum of effort.-

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel mounting arrangement for the clamping fingers in the box and pan design.

Further and fuller objects will become readily apparent when reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the hand brake of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the hand brake of FIG. 1 with the supporting leg being shown fragmentarily;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken generally along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view taken generally along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;i

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 4 to show the top leaf adjustment mea-ns;

, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken generally along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 1;

' FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevational view showing lthe top leaf in the closed position in solid lines and the open position in phantom lines;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a box and pan brake;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged View taken -along the lines 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the nose bar clamping portion shown in FIG. 9; and

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate representa-tive types of nose bars and extension yfingers usable with the arrangement of FIGS. 8-l0.

`Referring now to FIG. l, the hand brake of the present invention is illustrated generally at 1) including the usual bottom leaf portion 11 supporting la top leaf assembly shown generally at 12 Iand front leaf or bending leaf assembly at 13. The bottom leaf 11 may be formed in any desired manner and as illustrated includes longitudinally extending plate members 14 and 15 which are joined to each other at right angles land suitably braced. End support members-16 and 17 are joined lto opposite ends of the plate members 14 and 15. Each end support 16 and 17 `Vis mounted on a respective leg member 18 and .19 which in turn may rest on a mounting pad, factory floor, skid or the like.

Suitable means such as the hinge assemblies 20 and 20 mount the bending lleaf assembly 13 on the end support members 16 and 17 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter. As is Well known sheet metal is placed between the upper leaf assembly 12 and the bottom leaf 11 and clamped into place by suitable means with the end or edge to be bent projecting outwardly. The bending leaf 13 is then raised to the desired degree to bend the material to the appropriate angle which angle can be controlled or repeated on the present machine by a simple but effective adjustment as will be seen.

yReferring now to the enlarged end elevational view of FIG. 2, the more detailed features will be described. A top leaf adjustment is indicated generally at 21 and the clamping pressure adjustment is indicated generally at 22. In FIG. 2, the brake is illustrated with the top leaf assembly in the clamped position and the bending leaf [at rest. The top leaf assembly 12 may be formed in any suitable manner such as by joining the longitudinal plate members 23 and 24 to triangular shaped end plates (only one shown at y25) to form a generally wedge-shaped top leaf assembly 12. A suitable truss member 26y may be provided to permit adjustment of the central section of the top leaf assembly 12 to compensate for deflection when clamping pressure of unusual magnitude is applied.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the front-to-back adjustment provided by the novel hinge assembly 21 will be described. `Each hinge assembly 2l1 is of uniform construction and is disposed at opposite ends of the top leaf. In the interest of brevity only the right-hand hinge tassembly 21 will be described, it being understood that both assemblies are identical. The hinge assembly 21 includes a lower -adjustment saddle member 30 as seen in FIG. 5, and is of a channel or generally U-shaped configuration having bores 31 and 32 in each of the leg members to slidably receive a threaded adjustment screw 33. A handle member 34 is joined to the projecting end of the adjustment screw 33 by means of a roll pin or the like 35. A collar member 36 and a shoulder 37 on the adjustment screw 33 serves to maint-ain the screw properly positioned to permit a flat sided adjustment nut 38 to travel between the collar 36 and shoulder 37 in response to rotation of the handle 34.

As seen in FIG. 4, a top saddle member 39 is generally Ushaped in endwise elevation having leg portions 40 and 41 overlying opposite sides of the lower adjustment saddle 30 and the associated end support 16. The top adjustment saddle 39 as well as the lower adjustment saddle 30 may be mounted in the seats formed in the top and bottom end supports 25 and 16, respectively, by means of cap screws Vas illustrated. EEach of the respective supporting surfaces may be machined to receive co-operating machined surfaces on the top and bottom saddles to insure accurate position of one part relative to the other. The top adjustment saddle 39 in side elevation contains a U-shaped slot in each of the legs 40 and 41 with one in evidence at 42 in FIG. 2. The fU-shaped slots receive the cylindrical adjustment -nut 38 with a bearing lit on opposite sides of upper saddle 39 to permit the top leaf assembly to rotate about an axis passing through the central' axis of the nut which coincides with the hinge axis.

As is apparent, the central axis of each of the nuts is movable to shift the hinge axis of the top leaf assembly. Rotation of the handle 34 causes the adjustment screw 33 to rotate thereby causing the yadjustment or hinge nut 38 to slide on the at side thereof between limits established by the collar 36 and shoulder 37. Accordingly, Ithe hinge axis of the top Ileaf assembly is shifted forwardly and rearwardly depending upon the direction of rotational movement of the handle 34 to provide 'che desired bending clearance.

In the past it has been necessary to provide some form of locking means, usually in the form of lock nuts and the like, to prevent slippage of the adjustment once set, however, no `locking means is necessary in the present design as once the hinge axis is set, the adjustment nut 38 remains exactly as positioned.

The adjustable clamping assembly indicated generally at 22 in FIG. 2 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7. A suitable handle S0 is provided with a centrally disposed weighted section 51 which in the present case is streamlined for better appearance and weight distribution. The handle is formed with an an nular integral raised boss S2 at its inner end. A clamping link 53 is provided with an opening 54 lined with bearing material or the like to reduce friction. The raised boss 52 on the handle is received in the opening 5 4 in the link 53 with a bearing t. The link 53 has an elorA gated threaded portion 55 which extends through an opening 56 formed in one end of a pivot shaft 57 mounted on the end plate 16. The end plate 25 at the end of the top leaf assembly is provided with a reinforcing plate 58 to increase the bearing area of the aperture 59 formed in the gusset 25 to mount the clamping pin 60. An oper1= ing 61 is formed in the handle assembly and may be lined with a bearing material or the equivalent to en hance the ease of movement of the handle 50 about the clampingpin 60. A spring 62 has one end bottomed on the gusset plate 25 and the other end bottomed against a Washer 63 with the latter held in place by lock nuts 64 and 65. In this manner, the raised boss 52 on the handle 50 is resiliently held in engagement withl the re inforcing block 58 on the gusset plate 25. As seen in" FIGS. 2, 3 and 7, the opening 61 in the handle assembly 50 is offset relative to the center of the opening 54 in the link so that rotation of the handle causes a camming action within the opening 54 in the link, raising and lowering the top leaf assembly 12 in response to handle movement.

The pivot shaft 57 acts through a pair of nuts 66 and 67 to restrain the link 53 from movement while permitting rotational freedom about the axis of the opening 68, formed in the end member 16. The opening may be lined with bearing material 69 to reduce friction. A snap ring fitted into a groove in the shaft holds the pin 57 to the support 16.

A stop pin 70 is carried by the link 53 and co-operates with integral stops 71 and 72 carried on the handle assembly 50. In this manner, the limits to the rise and fall of the cam are established to obtain optimum clamping pressure and prevent the operator from going past the high and low points of the cam as the handle is moved between the open and close positions. Since the stop pin is symmertical, the links at opposite ends are interchangeable for manufacturing convenience.

A clamping assembly 22 including the handle cam and link `arrangement is provided at the left-hand end of the brake as is shown in FIG. 1, and is of identical construction except for reversal of the raised boss on the handle.

As is best seen in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, a nose bar portion 75 is secured by machine screws (not shown) to a clamping plate 77 which is carried by the longitudinal plates 23 -and 24 forming a part of the top leaf 12. The nose bar 75 is formed a hard steel to co-operate with a hard longitudinally extending clamping block 76 suitably joined to the plate member 15. The nose bar 75 and clamping block 76 form a pair of jaws which open and close in response to movement of the handle 50.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation of the brake will now be described. Sheet stock is positioned on the bottom leaf 11 with the nose portion of the top of leaf asembly 12 in a raised position as shown in phantom in FIG. 6. The handles 50 on opposite ends of the brake are rotated from the phantom position in FIG. 7 to the solid line position to close the jaws as shown in solid lines. The sheet stock is thus held in the clamped position with a portion of the stock projecting beyond the nose bar 75. The bending leaf 13 is then raised by handles 78 (FIG. l) with the counter weights 79 and 80 assisting in movement of the bending leaf.

As the bending leaf 13 is rotated about its hinges 20 and 20 the upper edge folds the protruding portion of the sheet stock upwardly. Each hinge assembly 20 and 20 is provided with needle bearings for greater accuracy in bending, to reduce the wear, and make the bending function easier. The bending leaf may be provided with a hard insert along the upper edge as well as the usual clamps to accommodate special forming attachments.

The nose bar 75 is illustrated in FIG. 6 as being adjacent the plane of the bending leaf 13 when the latter is at rest. When metals of substantial thickness are to be bent the top leaf is moved to the open position and the nose bar 75 may be moved rearwardly to provide clearance between the upper edge of the bending leaf 13 and the front edge of the nose bar 75. The novel hinge adjustment 21 of the present invention permits selectivity of the desired clearance with unequalled ease. For example, rotation of the handle 34 shifts the adjustment nut 38 which in turn moves the top saddle 39 forwardly and rearwardly depending upon the direction of rotation. This shifts the nose bar 75 relative to the front edge of the clamping block 76 on the bottom leaf 11 thereby to adjust the clear-ance between the nose bar and the bending leaf. If desired, only one end of the brake need be adjusted if the metal strips to be bent are of narrow width. In bending large sheets which occupy substantially the entire width of the brake, the adjustments may be determined by the number of rotations of the handle 34. Suitable marker or index means may be provided to assist in such adjustment.

When the clamping pressure is desired to be increased or decreased, the lock nuts 66 and 67 shown in FIG. 3, may be moved in the appropriate direction to cause the threaded shaft 55 to be raised or lowered, thereby shifting the eccentric axis formed by the clamping pin 60. Accordingly, the entire upper bending leaf is raised or lowered depending upon the desired adjustment. A similar adjustment is performed at the opposite end so that uniform clearance between the nose bar 75 and clamping block 76 is provided for optimum ease in clamping and minimum distortion of the bending leaf.

As seen in FIG. 6, a gusset 85 may be provided to brace the plates 23 and 24. A similar gusset 86 may be provided to brace the lower anvil assembly plates 14 and 15. The usual truss rods 87 and 88 are provided on each assembly to permit tension adjustment in a manner well known.

In straight bending operations the desired angle may be pre-set by adjusting a T-shaped stop mem-ber 82 having a set screw which permits it to be moved relative to the supporting rod member 83. The rod member 83 is slidably received in fa fixed stop member 84 carried on the end portion 16 of the bottom leaf 11. One end of the rod 85 is pivotally received in the lower hinge assembly 20 so that the rod is drawn through the bearing 84 as the bending leaf or apron 13 is raised. If desired, the rod may be provided with suitable indicia to permit pre-setting of the desired angle of bend. Obviously, with this arrangement, repeatability of bends is assured.

FIG. 8 illustrates a fragmentary portion of a floor mounted box and pan type brake 110 constructed in accordance with the principles set out in FIGS. 1-7. The

brake of FIG. 8 may :also be provided with removable type legs as shown at 18 in the standard brake to facilitate ease of manufacture and reduction in bulk for shipment.

The brake shown fragmentarily at in FIG. 8 includes a top leaf 111 supported for movement into clamping engagement with a bottom clamping bed 112. A bending leaf 113 is carried -by hinge portions 114 at opposite ends of the bottom leaf 112 to perform the bending function after material has lbeen clamped by the top and bottom leafs. The top leaf 111 may be constructed and mounted in accordance with the description given above, and as seen in FIG. 9 includes plate members 115 and 116 welded into -a wedge-shape with a suitable bracing 117.

A finger extension 118 is disposed along the underside of the top leaf 111 and has the rearward end formed to a. reduced section or tongue 119 which is received in a longitudinal slot 120 formed in a mounting block 121 carried beneath the bottom plate 116. A finger clamping bar 122 is joined to the finger extension 118 by means of a bolt 123 and has a generally U-shaped slot 124 opening rearwardly to receive the lading edge of the bottom plate 116 of the top leaf 111. A set screw 125 clamps the leading edge 126 of the bottom plate 116 to assist in mounting the finger extension 118.

At the forward end of the finger extension 118 is provided a nose clamping bar 127 of L-shaped configuration mounted beneath the finger extension with a cap screw 129 to form a channel-shaped groove 128. A nose bar 130 has a rearwardly projecting tongue 131 received in the channel-shaped groove 128 and clamped between the extension finger 118 and the nose bar clamp 127. The tongue 131 may be slightly thicker than the width of the groove 128 to provide good clamping action.

The bottom leaf 112 may be formed from plate stock 132 and 133 joined .at right angles by means of welding with suitable reinforcing provided by brace members 134 and 135. At the forward edge of the plate 133 forming the bed of the bottom leaf 112, Ia series of openings are provided to permit passage of bolts 136 which lare received in spaced tapped openings 137 formed through the bottom bar 138. When mounted in this manner, the bottom bar 138 may be reversed to permit renewalof the edge adjacent the bending leaf 113 four times. Also, the bolted arnangement facilitates easy replacement of the bottom bar if such should become necessary. If desired, the bottom bar may be wel-ded to the plate 133 in lieu of bolting, however, the former expedient makes .replacement or renewal of the front surface more difficult. The bending leaf may be provided with an insert blar 140 and angle bar 141 bolted to the main leaf portion as at 142 or may take any desired form.

In FIG. l0 is shown a modified method of holding the nose bar, with nose bar clamp joined by means of a oap screw or the like 151 to the bottom plate 152 of a top bending leaf 153. The nose bar clamp is provided with a rabbeted groove or cutaway portion 154 which forms with the bottom plate a channel to receive a rear extension or tongue 155 provided on the nose bar 156.

As seen in FIGS. 11-13, modified forms of nose bars may be used in lieu of nose bar 156 in order to meet any particular need in metal forming. In FIG. ll is illustrated aradiused nose bar 157, while a larger radiused nose blar 158 is shown in FIG. 121. An open end finger is shown at 159 in FIG. 13. Each of the nose bar and extension figures shown in FIGS. 1l-13 is also provided with a rearwlardly projecting tongue to permit easy, expedient and rigid installation in brakes.

Upon a consideration of the foregoing, it will become obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without depending from the inventive concepts embodied herein. Accordingly, only such limitations should be -imposed as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a hand brake having a top leaf assembly, a bottom leaf anda `bending leaf as well as 'means to move sai'd top leaf relative to said bottom leaf, the improvement comprisling :an radjustable `hinge means mounted at opposite ends Aof said vtopleaf assembly for shifting the rotational IaXis of said top leaf assembly, ea'ch of said adjustable hinge means including 'a vgenerally U-shaped top saddle member I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,162,050 11/1915 Gioeler 72-,319 1,283,808 11/1918 Krump 72-319 2,190,839 2/1940 Jensen 72419 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

E. SUTTON, Assistant Examiner. 

